Talk DISD

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It’s playtime in Dallas ISD! Trustees pass daily recess requirement.

It’s playtime for elementary students in Dallas ISD after trustees on Thursday approved to make daily recess a requirement.

Students in prekindergarten through fifth grade will have at least 20 minutes of daily recess for the rest of the school year. The time length will increase to a minimum of 30 minutes next school year.

School staff also can’t ban students from recess as a form of discipline for minor offenses.

Audience members at the board meeting applauded and cheered after trustees approved the change, which was included with consent agenda items that required one vote.

Several students spoke, including six-year-old Madeline Ziehm.

“I get 15 minutes of recess, I want 100 minutes,” she told the board to a roomful of laughter.

About 78 percent of the district’s elementaries have offered daily recess, but most only provided 15 minutes or less, according to a survey by the district. Only 3 percent of schools had recess for 20 minutes or more, the survey found.

Trustee Dan Micciche brought the initial proposal to the board. He has cited studies that show recess improves social and emotional health and learning.

In other matters, trustees approved to issue $645 million in school building bonds. The bonds, which are expected to be bid Feb. 9, are part of a $1.6 billion bond measure passed by voters in November. The first round of construction projects are expected to begin in April.

Also at the meeting, a new policy that outlines the district’s goals and plans for early childhood education was approved by trustees.

The policy, pushed by trustee Miguel Solis, states in part that the district “shall offer prekindergarten to all eligible three and four year old children within the district.” A goal is to serve 100 percent of eligible families in DISD by the 2025-2026 school year.

First, to be clear, Mike Miles is a JOKE! He is not even certified in Texas to do the job he has. He came in to shake it all up and our lousy Board with the exception of Carla Ranger, is all to ready to go down in flames with Miles it seems.

Sounds fair to me on one condition. The minute that one school falls below the same standard then Miles and all of his cronies must be replaced also. After all he is the leader of the district and he represents all the schools and teachers. See how quickly they realize how stupid of an idea this is.

This is a step in the right direction. I would like to see the district put some money into parent involvement initiatives. I like the idea of 12 observations. I don't see how any principal could make an accurate judgement with one of over a hundred school days. I think that this plan is fair to both teachers and students.

Miles has crafted a "performance pay" plan for his bonuses but it's apparent to anyone with half a brain that he can manipulate the system. Why do you think he told principals to score teachers low on spot observations? He'll come back this summer or next year with a slick chart showing how much he "improved" instruction and collect a fat check from the gullible board. The man is a charlatan and a huckster.

Incentive pay is no-brainier, and it's intuitive that it will work as long as we all remember that the schools are there for the children, not the teachers. No offense, but it's not a labor consideration, or at least it shouldn't be. Some day soon the current system will be entirely dismantled in favor of lower cost learning centers, and only the bet teachers will have opportunity. Best to embrace change and get on board.

Is it too much to ask for research to be done to determine if pay for performance actually works before agreeing to it? From all appearances, it did not work in Colorado. We do not need to accept Miles research. He is biased.

Apparently there are a lot of confused people out there about what a school and school district may choose to spend Title 1 funds. It may choose to spend no more than 10 percent on staff development; however, it MUST spend at least 70% on personnel. It must spend this on "highly qualified staff" to improve the academic performance of the students in that building. It can buy coaches, additional teachers, and teacher assistants. It cannot buy clerical or administrative positions. I think the issue at hand is WHO is making the hiring and staffing decisions -- Will these positions be hired and assigned by the central administration or by the building level principals. Right now, the principals make these decisions. Let's be good citizens and get the facts straight.

Be fair, that is accurate. Teachers are being released as well because they have to be replaced with bilingual teachers. Even though math is taught in English, some teachers will be replaced with bilingual teachers.

As the two previous posters, lowlyap and low morale, I feel exactly the same way. I do not want to get up in the mornings b/cause I know I have to go back to misery again. My husband is tired of hearing about all the stuff Miles is doing. I loved my job. Really. LOVED IT. Dallas was always challenging but I was proud to say that I worked in a urban district with low income students. SOMEONE HAS TO DO IT! I wanted to be one of those people. Now, us teachers can't seem to do anything right. My PDAS scores as well as some of my colleagues have gone down after years of exceeding expectations. This is after following Miles plan of teaching cause I sure was not doing it my way. It is gut wrenching to tell a teacher who is there because they love teaching to teach in a way that they know is not working or not the best way for their students. Then it is even worse when they have someone watching constantly, to make sure they do what they are told. Of course,this is why their is low morale. GOOD teachers are hoping they can find another job or leave somehow. Not the bad ones.

I remember a time when I was enthusiastic and motivated to return after spring break. Now, I'm sad and depressed. I have spots and PDAS and not enough time. I hate working in DiSD and looking in other districts. That's for real.

Writing under Anonymous is a right. Speaking the truth is a right. There is nothing heroric about firing people because they see the world through a differnt lense, and we know that principals, teachers, and staff memebers will be "black listed" under the current climate. That is real talk

This comment was made in the Colorado Springs Independent 4/6/2012.“Good riddance! Mike Miles is nothing more than a power-hungry megalomaniac and a school-yard bully. Now that he and his minions have thrown their weight around and completely gutted Harrison District 2 of many fine educators and programs, he is moving on. One has to wonder how many years it will take Harrison to recover. May God help Dallas Independent School District...”

Matthew Haag, the survey is not anonymous. Employee i.d. numbers are required for staff to take surveys and everyone must take the survey. Therefore the results are not that principals say their bosses have helped them improve, but that principals want to keep their jobs.

Just checked my training documentation account--last summer's training does not appear. Why are we continously subjected to these surprises? January 2012 I received a phone call telling me my contract would not be renewed if I did not immediately renew my certificate (it was scheduled to expire in July 2012), but no one could be bothered to send a warning email that we had to find ways to document our training after that? WTH?

Concerns:It has been proven that the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees are absolutely in DENIAL and embarrassed for NOT researching and investigating Miles’ credentials thoroughly for such a prestigious position that requires EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE, UNDERSTANDING, and CERTIFICATION.

It is not about Miles’ multimillionaire cabinet.It is not about Miles’ self-chosen fellows.It is not about Miles’ You Tube videos selling himself.It is not about Miles’ constant contradictions and lies.

I want to know who are the principals and APs who have gotten hired this school year. Are all of them certified and qualified? My son attends a DISD school, and I want to know if the people making decisions know what they are doing. Fellows or not, I want the best qualified people to be in charge at my son's school.

Seven fellows got principal, AP and other admin positions. How many non-fellows have gotten principal, AP and other admin positions? Are the people getting these jobs certified and qualified? Any out of district people getting hired? Who makes the hiring decisions? What makes them qualified to decide who gets hired as admin?

To become a principal, it is necessary to enroll in an Approved Educator Preparation Program. Contact the approved program of your choice to find out the specific requirements for that program.To be eligible to receive the Standard Principal Certificate, you must: hold a master's degree from an institution of higher education that is accredited by an accrediting agency, as recognized by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (outside source); hold a valid classroom teaching certificate;have two years of creditable teaching experience as a classroom teacher;successfully complete an approved principal educator preparation program;successfully complete the required exams.

All fellows are employees of the district. They are on a salaried scholarship program. They are paid to get training, then paid higher if they get an admin position. What a wonderful life Mike Miles created for them.

i hope Marsh principal documented the times Mike Miles embarrassed him and made jabs and sarcastic remarks of his teachers in what-not-to do if Supt's son attend your school. I don't blame him if he now gave up his position. Grieve and you shall win.

I have to say I agree with Domingo Garcia. I live in Cowan's district, I have two kids in DISD, and I teach in DISD. I have sent him emails twice to his official email address, and I have never gotten a reply. If he's not in contact with his Hispanic constituents and he's not in contact with his white constituents (in a district where most people fall into those two groups), then who is he in contact with?